Automatic dump skip



Filed 001;. 10, 1944 15, 1949 c. D. WOODWARD ETAL 7 9 AUTOMATI C DUMP SKIP 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS CL [FFORD D. WODDWABD FRJB YNUS E. RALPH flwgflwmwrmmza ATTORNEYS 16, 4 c. D. WOODWARD Ei-AL 2,479,449

AUTOMATIC DUMP SKIP Filed Oct. 10, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIIIIIIIIIIIIZ -l'lia IN ENTO .Jcurrorzo "0. woo a/Aao FRANHSE, RA LIPH BY 4 W PW Mm/z-Ww ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 16, 1949 AUTOMATIC DUMP SKIP Clifford D. Woodward and Francis E. Ralph,

Butte, Mont,

assignors to Anaconda Copper Mining Company, a corporation of Montana Application October 10, 1944, Serial No. 557,981 3 Claims. (01. 214-117) This invention larly of the type which the material in the skip is discharged.

In one of its advantageous embodiments, the invention provides a door in the side of the skip near the bottom which is automatically raised to dump the skip as the skip moves to its dumping position, and means for closing the door. In a preferred arrangement of apparatus, the door is raised or slid upwardly by means on the skip which engages anactuating member located at the place where the skip is dumped and the door is raised to its open position while the skip is moving to its dumping position. Advantageously, the means on the skip comprise a lever-actuated suspension means including a cable or chain passing over a roller or pulley, one end of which engages the lever and the other the door, and the actuating member may be a cam or profile guide securely attached to the surrounding fixed structures at the dumping station which operatively engages the lever to open the door. The actuating member may be provided with means for moving it into or out of operative position to permit the skip to move past dumpin stations without dumping when desired. In order to facilitate the smooth operation of the door, a separate mechanism comprising the trunnion roller, lever, cable, pulley and actuating mechanism are provided at both upright side edges of the door.

An especially suitable skip according to the invention is in the form of an oblong rectangular box being relatively deep in its upright direction and has an inclined bottom with the door on the side opposite the inclined bottom. The door is most eiiectively located at the bottom of an upright side to facilitate its raising and lowering and the inclined bottom being opposite directs the material to the door, thereby facilitating the dumping and minimizing the amount of material retained in the skip. In Other words, the skip dumps clean and in a very short time.

The invention also includes improved means for securing the cables to the opposite sides of the skip door in such manner as to facilitate equalizing tensions placed on them.

These and other novel features of the invention will be better understood after considering the followin discussion taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figs. 1, 2 and 3 are side elevational views of skip apparatus of the invention in three diiierent positions;

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the lower portion of a skip illustrating another embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 5 is a front elevational view of the skip of Fig.

Figs. 6 and 7 are fragmentary side and front elevational views of still another embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged view of a detail of the invention; and

Figs. 9 and 10 are fragmentary vertical and horizontal sectional views, respectively, through the adjustment bracket for the cables shown in Figs. 6 and 7.

The apparatus of the invention, illustrated more or less diagrammatically in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, comprises a skip I which is of relatively small rectangular cross-sectional area and relatively long with a downwardly sloping bottom 2. The skip is supported in a vertical position on the cable 3 which is attached to a bail 4 connected to the upper side walls of the skip by means of the trunnions 5. The skip is guided in its upward and downward travel in the mine shaft by the lower guide 6 and the upper guide I which engage the guide rails 8 in the form of timbers or the like. It is understood that similar guiding means are mounted on the opposite side of the skip.

The skip door 9 is in the form of a flat plate which may be raised and lowered through suitable securing guides by means of the cable or chain Ill. The door is preferably located opposite the inclined bottom 2 so that when the door is opened the material will slide through the opening without leaving any appreciable residue. The cable 10 passes around the roller or pulley II and is secured to the upper end of the lever l2 which is pivotally connected to the skip at its opposite end by the pin I3. At a position near the pivoted end of the lever, a trunnion roller I4 is connected by an extension bracket l5. At a position above the place where the door opens to dump the skip, a cam or profile member [6 in the form of a rigid metal plate is secured to the surrounding permanent structure, such as the timbering of the shaft, As the skip moves in its upward or downward direction, the trunnion roller l4 engages the cam member I6, swinging the lever in a counterclockwise direction, as best shown in Fig. 2, to cause the chain W to pull the door to its open upward position. The material to be dumped slides through the open side, and as the skip moves either abovewonlbelomthapositionrsleownl Figs 1, the door talls to'its closed position, carryingfithe lever l2 to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

It is frequently necessary, and especially in the underground workings, to move the skip upward or downward past dumping stations without opening the door. To this end, thelinventionprovides a cam member which is adjustab y moumted ,on

the surrounding permanent structtlle. .Asillustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the cam. member ispivotally connected at the top on the pin Fl and=is attached to a bracket 18 at the bottom. :lEnoperatin the skip without opening the door, the

profile. memberisdisengagedfrom the,,brack et L3 and swung to therightasshowninFig. B, where i -i m l t ycutoi en a ement with the trunnion,ro;l1er;l4. ,Anytimeit, isdesired to open the door to dump ,material at the place where the cam member islocatedthecam member is swun to the.position,shown ..in Figs. 1 and 2.

The,apparatus illustrated inFigs. 4 and 5 pomprises a skip 2!! which has a doub1e side wallZl, double inclined bottom v22 with .a space thereetw en led with ,a shock-absorbing,material such as wood or rubber 23. The lower guide 24 isin thejorm ,ofja vU eshapedchannel and S es over the guide rail 25. The door 26 has a plurality of anglebars .21 attached thereto, as by welding,

to reinforcethe. door. .Blooks 2B. and29 are formed of individual pieces of bar steel securelygfastened tothe anglebarsfifl which .form the side guides for the door. Blocks 28 are both welded and boltedto the guides30,.whileblocksl19 are merely bolted to guides .310 and .are accordingly easily removable. Blocks 29 some ,as ,bumpcrs, so that when the door 26 drops into position by gravity, the shock is absorbed thereby and transmitted .to u de bars30, preventing the bottom of the door from ,striking on the .discharge ,lip of the skip.

To transmit this .blow from the falling door 26 to bumper blocks .29, there is a heavy metal bar 2- 9 welded .to the top of ,thedoor which extends over blocks 29 and to which is attached the adjustable bracket f o r t .e chain or cable 32. The side edgesof the door slide inside theangle bars 311 and .in the recesses .31.

As best shownin Fig. the door .is suspended on two cables 3,2 which pass upwardly and over the pulleys .33 attached to the sides of the skip. Each of the cablesiis attached at its upper end to a lever ,34 which is .pivotally connected to a side of theskip by a bolt 35. The trunnion rollers are connected to the levers 3'4 by thebrackets 31. As shown inFig. 4 the cam member 38 is formed of aflat plate with ,a reenforcing rib on the back surface insuring the desired stifiness. The profile of .the cam member 38 over its entire length is the same as shownfor the cam member 16 of Figs. 1 to ,3. In order to prevent the door being carried upwardly beyond the desired position, the stop member 40 in the form of a bar is connected across the front of the skip.

The modified form of skin illustrated in Figs. 6 and"? comprises an angle bar secured along each side wall of the skip, at the front thereof, to which at spaced intervals, door-engaging fingers 46 are attached as by welding (see Fig. 8). These fingers are provided with a groove 4'! in which the side edges of the door slide, and while the door is accordingly prevented from being forced either inward or outward, it is free to move upward or downward with a minimum of jamming. The heavy bar 48 extending across the door and forming a part thereof has a bracket 49 attached to each end thereof comprising a Wedges-hapedaadjiistable. membereliiltto which: the chain :or cable Skis :attachedsand'a cooperating wedgeshaped block 52 having an inclined face with the csame slope as the inclined face of the member 50.

Member has elongated slots 53 and 54 permittingit to be slidably mounted over the bolts 55 sand-s55. The adjustable member 59 may be adtiilsted unor downrto maintain an equal tension -.for-.bothwcablesrorechains merely by loosening the bolts 55 and to set the member 50 in the posi- 'tion'de'sired. ASSh'GWn in Figs. 9 and 10, the bar 48.is:thickened at the end where the wedge portions 50 and 52 are secured to it, and is rabbeted or otherwise formed at itsback withacspace-lfil which receives the door-engaging fingers 45 .as theidoor moves up and downpast'them.

The improved apparatusof the invention. eliminates the necessityiorinverting the skip during dumping, as has been the practice iheretofore, andmay be usedin confined places .in underground workings without requiring .a great deal of space. The ,door operating in combination with the inclined bottom ,provides .a skip which discharges its entire load. It may, accordingly, be used very effectively even in freezing weather for hauling moist material without an appreciable accumulation of residue in the skip. .One important feature of the.'invention 'is the free return of the door .to its .closed position merely by gravity. There is, accordingly, no operating mechanism likely .to become injured should the doorbecomeljammed inits open position. "If the door of .thelinvention becomes .1 ammed when open,

' the skip may, nevertheless, travel in its normal manner as the door may later be closed after removing the obstruction. One of the features of the invention which tends to eliminate the sticking .of the door is the slotted guides in the form .of a .series of fingers through which the edges of the door slide.

We claim:

1. In a, skip assembly of the character described, in which the skip is arranged for travel to 'and froma dumping station and comprises side walls and a bottom with a vertically 'slidable door in one. side wall,'means for opening the door at a dumping station comprising a lever pivotally mounted atone endonthe skip, a pulley mounted on the skip'above the door, a cable secured to the door and passing thence over the pulley to the free-end of the lever, a cam follower mounted on the lever "at a distance from its pivot, and a cam member mounted on a fixed structure adjacent the dumping station and adapted to engage the cam follower in such manner as to actuate the lever to pullon the cable and raise the doorwhen the is brought to the dumping station.

2. In askip assembly of the character described comprising side walls and a bottom, a vertically slidable door in one side wall, and a pair of cables secured one to each side of the door for lifting the door to the :open'posi'tion, the improved means tor securing the cables to the door to facilitate equalizing the tension on the cables comprising a bracket for attachment to each cable, said bracket comprising a first wedge block thicker at the bottom than at the top, means for attaching a lifting cable at the top of said first wedge block, a second wedge block thicker at the top than at the bottom overlying each first wedge block, and at least one bolt which when tightened clamps the first wedge block securely between the second wedge block and the door, said first wedge block having a vertically elongated opening through which said clamping bolt passes, so that when said bolt is loosened said first wedge block may be adjusted vertically relatively to the door and the second wedge block.

3. A skip assembly of the character described comprising a skip adapted to travel to and from a dumping station and having side walls, a bottom and a door, means for opening the door at a dumping station comprising a depressible cam follower linked to the door to open the door when the cam follower is depressed, and a cam member so mounted adjacent the dumping station that it may be moved, selectively, into an advanced position to engage the cam follower and depress it to cause the door to open when the skip is brought to the dumping station and into a retracted position in which it does not engage the cam follower, so that when the cam is in such retracted position the skip may be brought to or past the dumping station without causing the door to open.

' CLIFFORD D. WOQDWARD. FRANCIS E. RALPH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 221,793 Davis Nov. 18, 1879 528,085 Fatkin Oct. 23, 1894 763,182 Holmen June 21, 1904 1,259,035 Miller Mar. 12, 1918 1,335,080 Spiller Mar. 30, 1920 1,872,054 Allen Aug. 16, 1932 2,180,797 Cockerham Nov. 21, 1939 2,187,657 Lambert Jan. 16, 1940 

